Gatorland trainer Chris Costa holds a baby Nile crocodile in the nursery in a backstage area, during the park's "Trainer For A Day" program. The tour gives guests a behind-the-scenes look and up-close interactions with the park's famed alligators and other animals. The guest-training program is...

Gatorland trainer Chris Costa holds a baby Nile crocodile in the nursery in a backstage area, during the park's "Trainer For A Day" program. The tour gives guests a behind-the-scenes look and up-close interactions with the park's famed alligators and other animals. The guest-training program is... (JOE BURBANK, ORLANDO SENTINEL)

"Chester," Gatorland's largest alligator at 14-feet and 1,000 pounds, lunges out of the water for as snack as during a feeding in Gatorland's "Trainer For A Day" program. The tour gives guests a behind-the-scenes look and up-close interactions with the park's famed alligators and other animals....

"Chester," Gatorland's largest alligator at 14-feet and 1,000 pounds, lunges out of the water for as snack as during a feeding in Gatorland's "Trainer For A Day" program. The tour gives guests a behind-the-scenes look and up-close interactions with the park's famed alligators and other animals.... (JOE BURBANK, ORLANDO SENTINEL)

The animals, between 6 and 8 feet long apiece, outgrew their exhibit at the theme park. In Orlando, they'll have more elbow room: The females will be released into Gatorland's breeding marsh, and the males will be on exhibit for Gatorland guests to see.

“In the wild, an American alligator can typically grow 10-12 inches each year,” says Mike Hileman, Gatorland’s director of entertainment. “In a captive environment that growth rate can easily be intensified."

Gatorland, which opened on South Orange Blossom Trail in 1949, has animals on loan to several attractions, theme parks and zoos, Hilerman says.

These gators -- 10 males and nine females -- were moved to Tampa in two smaller groups around 2010, a Gatorland spokeswoman says.

Gatorland is adding more than 70 animals -- including a 15-foot American crocodile known as Bonecrusher II -- to the attraction after purchasing the creatures from the recently closed Everglades Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs.

Royal Caribbean Cruises is letting another of its older vessels go. The Splendour of the Seas, which was built in 1996, will leave the cruise line in 2016 after completing all of its scheduled itineraries. The 1,830-guest vessel, which currently sails South American cruises out of Santos,...